Incorporation of an additional optional circuit into a battery pack has been proposed in order to extend the function of a mobile communication terminal. Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Heisei 9-270836 laid open on Oct. 14, 1997 discloses an additional device implemented by a radio circuit installed in a battery pack detachably coupled to a mobile communication terminal. Also, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2110-19664 laid open on Mar. 15, 2001 in the name of Taejin Kim discloses an audio player including an MP3 codec and a flash memory module incorporated into the battery pack of a mobile communication terminal, while being controlled by a user interface included in the mobile communication terminal.
In association with such techniques, the applicant has proposed a battery pack device capable of supporting various functions such as low frequency therapy, ultrasonic beauty care, and body impedance measurement in a state of being coupled to a mobile communication terminal. Such a battery pack device is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Nos. 2002-53004, 2002-52994, 2002-52995, and 2002-52996 filed on Sep. 3, 2002. Such a battery pack device is configured by incorporating desired probes and associated driving circuits into a battery pack. The battery pack device can also communicate with a mobile communication terminal in a state of being coupled to the mobile communication terminal. The battery pack device can support the above mentioned functions in accordance with operations of the circuits thereof controlled by an application program executed in the mobile communication terminal.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the configuration of a beauty care apparatus disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2002-53004 as an embodiment relating to a mobile phone having ultrasonic and low frequency therapy functions.
This beauty care apparatus includes probes for ultrasonic/low frequency therapy installed on the outer surface of a battery pack. The user may select an ultrasonic therapy function from a function menu displayed on a mobile communication terminal, to which the battery pack is coupled. After selecting a desired level of the ultrasonic therapy function, the user may enter a start command. When the user subsequently brings the ultrasonic probes electrodes into contact with the skin, for example, the skin of the face, the beauty care apparatus detects this contact, thereby supplying ultrasonic waves to ultrasonic probes 130 and 140. The beauty care apparatus also includes first and second control units 100 and 150 adapted to perform data transmission and reception therebetween via a communication interface 30. The first control unit 100 drives an ultrasonic driver 120 and a low frequency driver 110 in accordance with a command from the second control unit 150.
Such a multi-functional integrated battery pack device must communicate with the body of the mobile communication terminal. Also, the terminal body should include an application program adapted to be executed, for example, under a virtual machine-based environment, so as to control the user interface of the terminal body. The application program must perform data transmission and reception with respect to the battery pack device. For instance, the terminal body should transmit a control command to the battery pack device, and receive data obtained in accordance with the control command.
For the provision of the above mentioned probes, however, it is necessary to modify the mold for manufacturing the body of the mobile communication terminal. As a result, a considerable increase in the manufacturing cost of the mobile communication terminal. Furthermore, taking into consideration the fact that currently available mobile communication terminals have a compact structure, addition of such elements having a relatively large size causes a considerable increase in the size of the mobile communication terminal, to which the elements are added.
Furthermore, various problems may occur when the above mentioned multi-functional integrated battery pack device is practically implemented. This will be described hereinafter. Most mobile communication terminals support a power supply management function in order to extend the life of a battery while protecting the battery. This function includes a power saving function for controlling the voltage level of electric power or the interval of clocks supplied to the main control unit and peripheral units of a terminal in accordance with the operating condition of the terminal, in order to control the consumption of the electric power. However, such a power saving function cannot be supported for an integrated battery pack device, so that the integrated battery pack device has a problem associated with management of electric power. That is, circuits installed in such a battery pack device excessively consume electric power because they are always in an active state so that they perform their intrinsic additional functions when those functions are required.
Meanwhile, a smart card, in which an IC including a microprocessor, an operating system, a security module, and a memory is installed, for storage, computation, and security functions, is widely used as means for recording of information, identification of personal character, and payment in most social fields including communication, banking, education, administration, and traffic fields.
In an application thereof to a mobile communication terminal, a representative example of such a smart card is a subscriber identity module for providing a roaming service. For a smart card usable as such a subscriber identity module, there are subscriber identity module (SIM), universal subscriber identity module (USIM), user identity module (UIM), and removable user identity module (RUIM) cards. In a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) system, which is a mobile communication system adopted in Europe, the SIM card is applied as a subscriber identity module which may be an interface between a mobile phone and a network, in order to cope with replacement of a terminal or replacement of a communication service provider. Such an SIM card stores therein user's information including a user's phone number. Accordingly, once a mobile phone, to which such an SIM card is mounted, is turned on, it can transmit information stored in the SIM card to a communication service provider via a network. After a use approval by the communication service provider, the user can normally use the mobile phone. The USIM card is a smart card making a mobile phone or computer to be applicable to a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) capable of allowing the user of the mobile phone or computer to transmit texts based on broadband packets, digitalized audio and video, and multimedia data at a bit rate of 2 Mbps or more, in any place in the world. Such a USIM card is installed in a terminal commercially available for international mobile communications (IMT)-2000 services. This USIM card can store therein user data along with secret authentication data. The UIM card is a smart card developed to improve the SIM card of the Europe GSM so as to make the SIM be applicable to a second-generation code division multiple access (CDMA) system. The RUIM card is a detachable smart card developed to make the SIM be applicable to a third-generation CDMA system.
Another application example of a smart card to a mobile communication terminal is the case in which the smart card is used as diverse payment means such as electronic cash (for example, a traffic card) and a credit card. In such a case, 13 connecting terminals of the smart card are electrically connected to the mobile communication terminal, and 2 connecting terminals of the smart card are connected to a radio frequency (RF) antenna installed in the mobile communication terminal, so that the smart card can be used, for example, to pay a charge such as a traffic fare on time, based on charge payment information transmitted between the smart card and an external interface (card reader) in accordance with a communication function of the mobile communication terminal.
Meanwhile, various techniques for mounting a smart card to a mobile communication terminal have been known prior to the filing of the present invention (FIGS. 18 to 22). Referring to FIG. 18, a connector is used for an electrical connection between terminals 1831 provided at the lower surface of a smart card 1830 and terminals 1841 provided at a printed circuit board 1840 mounted to the body of a mobile communication terminal. This connector includes a housing 1810 having an outer structure of a certain shape, and a plurality of terminals 1820 each electrically connected, at one end thereof, to an associated one of the terminals 1831 provided at the lower surface of the smart card 1830, while being electrically connected, at the other end thereof, to an associated one of the terminals 1841 provided at the printed circuit board 1840 of the mobile communication terminal.
FIGS. 19 to 22 illustrate techniques for guiding and detachably mounting a smart card to a seat provided at the rear surface of a mobile communication terminal, respectively. Referring to FIG. 19, a recessed seat 1911 is provided at a rear surface 1910 of a mobile communication terminal. The recessed seat 1911 has a certain depth so that it receives a smart card 1920. The recessed seat 1911 guides the smart card 1920 to receive the smart card 1920. The smart card 1920 is firmly held in a state of being received in the recessed seat 1911 by means of a thin metal plate 1930. Separation preventing protrusions 2038 may also be provided at the rear surface of the mobile communication terminal, so as to assist the thin metal plate 2070 to be held in the recessed seat 1911, as shown in FIG. 20.
Referring to FIG. 21, terminals 2131 made of an elastic material are mounted to a bottom surface 2112 of the connector housing such that they are upwardly protruded. The terminals 2131 serve to apply an upward force to a smart card in a state in which the smart card is mounted on the bottom surface 2112 of the connector housing. Card guiders 2121 are provided at opposite sides of the connector housing while being upwardly spaced apart from the bottom surface 2112 of the connector housing. The card guiders 2121 serve to prevent the smart card from being upwardly separated from the connector housing. Thus, the smart card is firmly mounted on the bottom surface 2112 of the connector housing. Of course, the smart card is guided to be mounted on the bottom surface 2112 of the connector housing by opposite lateral walls 2114 of the connector housing.
FIG. 22 illustrates a technique in which a guide unit is provided at a connector housing 2220 while including a mounting member for detachably mounting a smart card by covering at least a part of the upper surface of the smart card. That is, guide rails 2240 and card holding members 2250 are formed at the connector housing 2200 such that they are integral with the connector housing 2200, as shown in FIG. 22.
In accordance with the present invention, a connector is implemented which serves to connect a circuit installed in a battery pack to a mobile communication terminal to which a smart card is mounted. Where an interface structure separate from the smart card mounting structure shown in any one of FIGS. 18 to 22 is used to connect the circuit of the battery pack to the body of the mobile communication terminal, there are problems of an increase in the manufacturing cost of the mobile communication terminal and an increase in the size of the mobile communication terminal. Furthermore, the mobile communication terminal maker encounters a problem in that a separate manufacturing line should be installed in order to manufacture mobile communication terminals adapted to use the above mentioned circuit-installed battery pack.
Therefore, in the case of implementing a connector for the circuit installed in the battery pack, it is most important to make the circuit installed in the battery pack be connected to the body of the mobile communication terminal without any considerable modification of the existing smart card mounting structure.
In accordance with the known smart card mounting techniques, once the smart card is mounted to the mobile communication terminal, the terminals provided at the lower surface of the smart card are electrically connected with the terminals provided at the body of the mobile communication terminal, so that the smart card is connected with a microprocessor installed in the terminal body for communications therebetween. In other words, the conventional techniques are limited only to smart card mounting. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a concrete scheme for connecting the terminals of the circuit, arranged at the surface of the battery pack to come into contact with the terminal body, to the terminal body.